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present existing—more particularly that of Devon Street, which is the main thoroughfare of the town. The new line is approaching completion, and will be ready for traffic at an early date. The expenditure last year amounted to .£24,243, and the proposed vote for the present year is £15,000. Stkatfoed-Ongabtte . The section as far as Huiroa, nearly sixteen miles from Stratford, is nearing completion, and will shortly be available for traffic, and a commencement has been made with the Te Wera Section. The new section is an important one, as it will bring the line into touch with the main road from Whangamomona, and will thus be the means of drawing a largely increased traffic to the railway. Petitions have been presented, to Parliament praying for a commencement to be made with the works at the Ongarue end of this line, and on the completion of the North Island Main Trunk Eailway (from which this would really be a branch line) it would probably be convenient to transfer to this work a portion of the departmental staff and plant and a number of the workmen at present employed on the larger undertaking. Before this can be done, however, it will be necessary to have surveys made to definitely determine the point on the main line that will best serve for a junction station, and to exactly define the route of the first few miles of the branch line, which has not been definitely fixed at present. It is possible that Puketutu, in the Mokau Valley, may prove to be the better point of junction, and I propose to put the necessary surveys in hand to determine this question as soon as a suitable officer is at liberty. The expenditure on the Stratford-Ongarue Kailway during the late financial year amounted to £12,881, and a vote of £20,000 is proposed for this year. Mount Egmont Branch. The works on this railway, up to and including the crushing-station, are nearing completion, and it is expected that this portion of the line will be handed over to the Eailway Department and the regular crushing of stone commenced by Christmas next. The expenditure on the line last year amounted to £17,258, and for the current year a vote of £15,000 is proposed. Noeth Island Main Tbunk. A very large amount of work has been carried out on this railway during the year, the expenditure having greatly exceeded that of any previous year since the works were commenced. At the north end the rail-head has advanced to the top of the spiral—two miles and a half beyond Eaurimu, or 201 miles from Auckland —and rail-laying is now in hand southwards of that point. The formation-works beyond the spiral are well advanced, so that rail-laying as far as Waimarino and Makatote will probably proceed without interruption. A great deal of work has been done at the Makatote Viaduct, but the structure is still far from completion. The contract time expired on the 15th June last, but it is unlikely that the viaduct will be ready for the rails to be laid over it until March next. The contract for this work is held by Messrs. J. and A. Anderson, of Christchurch, who are also the contractors for the superstructures of the Manganui-o-te-ao and Mangaturuturu viaducts further along the line. The concrete piers and abutments of the latter viaducts have already been constructed by the Department, and are awaiting the erection of the superstructures by Messrs. Anderson. Their contract time for these works expires in February next, but it seems unlikely at present that they will be completed by that date. The rails will easily reach Makatote by March, so that if the viaduct is completed by then rail-laying can be carried on to Manganui-o-te-ao, and, as soon as the latter viaduct is ready, can be continued to Mangaturuturu, and so on.